Voting in UK elections if you have a criminal record

Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (amended by the Representation of the People Act 1985) prevents convicted individuals detained in prison and mental health hospitals from registering to vote in UK Parliament and English, Welsh and Northern Irish local elections.

In 2001 this ban was challenged by three convicted prisoners. The domestic courts rejected the challenge but one of the prisoners, John Hirst took his case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

On 6 October 2005, in the case of Hirst v United Kingdom (No 2), the ECtHR ruled that the UK’s ban on all serving prisoners from voting contravened Article 3 of Protocol No 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which provides that signatory states should “hold free elections .. under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people”.

The main element to the ECtHR’s ruling was that the UK’s blanket ban on prisoner voting was indiscriminate and disproportionate.

In December 2017 the UK Government came up with proposals that the Council of Europe said were sufficient to signify compliance with the 2005 ruling and the Council closed the case in September 2018.

However, the large majority of people in prison are still not allowed to vote in UK elections.

Who can vote?

If you have been convicted of a criminal offence and are serving a custodial sentence you are not allowed to vote whilst you are in custody.

There are some exceptions to this and you may be able to vote if you:

• Have not been convicted and are being held ‘on remand’.
• Have been convicted but not yet sentenced.
• Are a civil prisoner (for example you’ve been sent to prison for not paying a fine or debt).
• Are serving a default term for non-payment of a fine or confiscation order.
• Are in prison for contempt of court.
• Are in the community on home detention curfew (HDC) or released on temporary licence (ROTL).

If your conviction did not result in a prison sentence then your right to vote is not affected.

Being on the electoral register

Before you can vote your name has to be on the electoral register (sometimes referred to as the electoral roll).

• If you live in England you must be aged 16 or over to register. You can register to vote if you’re a British citizen or an Irish citizen.
• If you live in Wales you must be aged 14 or over to register. You can register to vote if you’re a British citizen, Irish citizen or a citizen of an EU country.

If you’re unsure whether you are registered, you can contact your local Electoral Registration Office.

If your name isn’t on the electoral register you will need to need to register either online or by completing the paper form and sending it to your local Electoral Registration Form.

A copy of the paper form can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/register-to-vote-if-youre-living-in-the-uk.

You can register to vote up to 2 years before you reach voting age.

Once you’ve registered, your name and address will appear on the electoral register and you can then:

• Vote in person.
• Apply for a postal vote.
• Apply for a proxy vote.

How to vote

1. By post – your ballot papers will be sent to you at your registered address and you will need to complete and return them. Postal votes have to arrive by 10pm on the day of an election otherwise your vote won’t be counted.
2. By proxy – this allows you to choose somebody to vote on your behalf. A proxy voter’s card will be sent directly to the person you have chosen to vote for you.
3. At a polling station – you can vote in person at the polling station listed on your polling card. You will need to take photographic ID with you.

If you are on HDC or are in the community on ROTL, you can vote in person providing the conditions of your release allow you to do so.

Applying for a postal or proxy vote

If you wish to vote by post or by proxy you will need to complete the relevant application form which can be found on the Government website.

You will be asked to provide proof of identity when completing the application form (this will include your date of birth, National Insurance number and signature). If you’re unable to provide your NI number, you will need to explain why in your application. The electoral services team may ask you to provide an alternative form of ID.

If you have been released from prison on HDC or are in the community on ROTL you can vote by post or by proxy from the address you have been released to, you can’t use a prison address.

If you don’t have a fixed or permanent address you may be able to register in the area you have spent most of your time by making a ‘declaration of local connection’.

The deadline to get this application to your local Electoral Registration Office is usually 11 working days before the election.

Reform of prisoners voting rights

In 2004 Unlock and the Prison Reform Trust called for the ban on prisoner voting to be overturned and restore the basic human right which had been denied to sentenced prisoners since the 1870 Forfeiture Act and which considers people in prison to be ‘civically dead’.

In 2020 the Scottish Parliament legislated that Scottish prisoners ordinarily resident in Scotland and serving a sentence less than 12-months would be eligible to vote in Scottish Parliament, local and national park elections.

The Senedd Cymru has not yet reformed prisoner voting rights for devolved elections in Wales, but has said it will continue to consider it as a longer-term priority.

More information

• Representation of the People Act 2000
• Restrictions on Prisoner Voting Policy Framework (published 11 August 2020)
• House of Commons briefing paper ‘Prisoners’ voting rights: developments since May 2015′
• Unlock publication from February 2011 ‘Barred from voting: The right to vote for sentenced prisoners’